Prairie Lily Arts

Accountability for the "Not-To-Be-Forgotten" List

 
Soft golden light bathes this retreat of a corner where I write.  I draw a plush blanket close and release long, slow breaths of contentment while I listen to the increasingly distant rumble of a magnificent summer storm.  The lightning and thunder punctuating the night displayed an intensity I've not witnessed in this house before. For split seconds, over and over again, these quiet, dim rooms were illuminated like a stage accompanied by crashing crescendos.  I breathe in...long and deep, until my lungs can hold no more.  The world slows. The night grows still.

Last month I wrote a post about this intentional kind of slowing down.  I smiled when one of my blogging buddies was friend enough to come back later and ask me how I was progressing in accomplishing my list of things "not to be forgotten"... the things that really matter most.  True friends care enough to hold us accountable.

Simplifying the View

Ok, so technically it's summer... but I'm spring cleaning.  In the process, I discovered a different view... or maybe rediscovered, really.  I found it inspiring in a quiet, unassuming way... a simpler way.  For when the layers are pulled down, all you see is the exposed, foundational, elemental nature of life... fresh, growing... dare I say, blossoming!  I stepped back, shifting the angle, switching the focus, adjusting the depth...toying with perspective.  I found a renewed appreciation for simplicity.

Manners: Love Reflected

There he was, my little man, standing tall in a starched shirt and silk tie, meeting new people.  I heard the guy-to-guy talk with a family friend. 

"Shoulders back.  In the eyes... look me in the eyes.  Now shake my hand like you mean it.  There you go."

I smiled. The art of a gentleman's agreement.  Has he heard it before?  Yes.  Do children need reminders as they grow and experience new situations?  Yes.  He looked at me, proud.  And he smiled, too.

While it is true that manners are "caught" as our children learn from example, they must also be taught.  There is an art about engaging others well.  Phone etiquette, letter composition, proper introductions, table settings, chivalry... these are skills which must be intentionally taught if we want our children to be well-received.  These aren't behaviors reserved for evenings of coat and tie, but a daily reflection of our appreciation for others.

I looked at this image and I thought, "Love Reflected".  The love my boys openly shared with one another not only reflected in the glass, but spilled out to my heart. 

Ready to Fly

  
"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."  Luke 12:27

Oh, how there are times my heart succumbs to worry.  Out of this knotted, constricted state comes needless toil, fruitless spinning.   This is especially true of my parenting.  My mama heart longs to shelter these lives entrusted to me beneath my wing, wrapped in this nest I've made, that no harm may come to them.  Yet, they flutter their wings; they raise their voices; they prepare to fly.  The world awaits.

"Is it my turn now?"  He had waited so patiently for me. 

Summer? I Missed Your Smile!

 

There is something about summer that makes me smile.  I love all of the seasons.  Particularly, I simply marvel in watching them transition.  But summer?  Well, it has a unique allure.  Perhaps, it is because summer beckons us outdoors, out of routines, out of habit, out of the familiar, out of false ceilings.  Summer is a season of discovery... adventure... new heights.   I smile at the memories of summers before... but I positively beam with anticipation for those yet to come!  Summer...  I run to you with open arms, swept up in your embrace... spinning round, feet off the ground!   So glad you're here...

Let me count the ways!   I love....

Daddy's Girl

Too many miles span, rivers divide, prairies stretch and roads cross between there and here tonight.  Thoughts jumble too much to write the poetry intended... but he's never been much for fancy or refined anything.  So I pour my coffee black, the way he would, in a blue speckled mug...  from Mark Twain Dinette.  I remind myself of one thing he's always taught me.  Distance doesn't matter.  Period.

The Learning Never Stops ~ Summer

 
"Mama, did you know this is good for you?!"

Joining my friend, Jenny, in her weekly L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge at Home Is Where the Heart Is.  This week's theme?  Summer.  Last weekend I drew the boys out on the deck for a balmy evening supper and snapped this picture of my little guy literally drinking up summer in the warm rays of late evening sun.  Few things taste like summer more than a melon just cracked open... sweet juices streaming down your fingers.  My little one delighted in the knowledge that this dessert was healthy!  We treasure our long summer days working in the garden and savoring the tastes of the season... literally and figuratively... so much to learn and discover!

First Vlog: Celebrating The Homeschool Village

To quote one of my favorite authors, "Judge tenderly of me..." as I post my first vlog to celebrate the growth of The Homeschool Village and introduce myself on a more personal level!

Today at The Homeschool Village we are sharing resources which have been the most useful in our homeschool endeavors.  My resource is not a title... but rather a family... the Clarkson family.  Many of you are already familiar with Clay and Sally Clarkson.  I hope you are also coming to know their children as they, too, are publishing books and releasing CDs which will inspire your family.

Spring and Summer Meet: A Watercolor Garden

 

As sunset grows near

I draw to the garden.

Fresh water flows sweetly cool,

Bubbling along boulders worn smooth.

Their companionship has softened edges harsh

And honed contrasts of character unique.

Guest Post: The St. Louis Book Signing by Andrew Malphurs

 
I am pleased to welcome the first guest writer at Prairie Lily Arts and doubly so to introduce him as my son, Andrew, a recently published young author.  I previously shared with you here that one of Andrew's goals for the year was to publish a piece of writing.  How delighted he was to have both a family history story and its companion illustration published within weeks!  While Andrew was keenly aware that publication can be a long and elusive quest, he was determined to capture the flag.  I love that about my little man... a heart that envisions... a spirit that attains.  Andrew, I love you. 

When Words Are No Longer Required

Sometimes the discussion swirling around you seems to have a recurring theme.  I've learned to take notice.   There is often a reason... or at least an opportunity to learn.  In the last week several of my friends have raised conversations about the merits of finding, valuing and holding onto forever love... the gift of marriage... the joy of family.  I suppose since I've lived life on both sides of the fence they are wondering about my perspective. 

Summer Recharge

 
It's been an exciting first week at the Homeschool Village!  It is our collective, heartfelt desire that this will be a place for you to connect, to learn, to share... to recharge!  So how do you, as a homeschool mom with a scrolling to-do list, recharge each summer?

I try to allow more time for things I enjoy doing and creating... but seldom find opportunities to accomplish during the school year.  Stacks of beautiful raw dupioni, silk brocade, and cotton velvet beckon for stolen moments of sewing to become something lush and inviting.  Paint swatches, spread in a colorful array, are torturing my power of selection! Page layouts for my first homeschool book await refinement.  Fresh summer recipes call for the garden's first picking!  (Come back and visit for recipes!)  And I confess... I love books and curriculum!  Tucking away the old and organizing the new feels a bit like Christmas!

The Science of Introduction

There are times in our lives that are more staid and settled... and times when everything is new and changing... including (perhaps especially) the people we know.  Whether in person or online, I am meeting new people daily.. sometimes hourly!  Each introduction is as unique as the person sharing it with me.  Sometimes I just take a quiet moment to reflect on these new voices in my life.  I wonder about their lives, how they crossed my path, and how much of our journeys we will come to share together.  There is a science of introduction.  Realizing this science changes the way I look at each new person I meet.

For You...

They know me.  They smooth over my shortcomings as if they never notice.  They cheer my every victory as if it is their own.  They bubble over with little-boy breathless giggles through my silly days.  They quietly offer patience through my focused days. They say I'm beautiful whether I'm skimmed in flowing black velvet, or just rose up slowly from warm, drawn covers.  They know my passion for chocolate fudge and potato chips.  They know my disdain for blue cheese and caviar... fish eggs, they'll tell you.  They know exactly what is about to be heard from my lips, before my voice makes a sound.  They know me.

They know my heart.

 

Clear Skies

I love the mountains.  So I was naturally a little disappointed yesterday as I approached Chattanooga to find the mountains blanketed in storm clouds. With rain sheeting down the windshield, splashed back and forth by the rapid swish of wipers, I saw something amazing.  Powerful, gushing waterfalls erupted... roaring from the sides of the mountains all around us.  They were beautiful.  Twin strikes of lightning flashed simultaneously on either side of the road, and suddenly this girl, who loves a summer storm, wasn't so disappointed in the view.  What had seemed limiting now became a gift.  I was awed.

 

Undaunted Dreams

In January I talked to my little man about goals for the new year... dreams... ambitions... what-would-you-do-if-you-knew-you-wouldn't-fail kind of goals.  One frosty morning, draped in a quilt and narrow in focus, I was clicking away at the keyboard when he approached me quietly... paper in hand. 

"Would you like to hear my goals?" 

The click-clacking stopped.  What was in this young heart?  The one where I can see just a glimpse of the man to be?  I turned my face on his.  The world would wait.  Dreams would begin.

"I want to get published."

 

What's Next...

My girlfriend, Stef, is building a village... The Homeschool Village... a place to meet and grow with other homeschool families... and Sue, Robyn, and I said we'd move right in!  (You'll want to drop by and visit these girls!) Each Thursday Stef will host the Homeschool Village Blog Fair.  It's easy to join in!  Post a few thoughts about the week's topic with links to three of your favorite homeschool blogs and link up!  Add Stef's button if you'd like!  We'll be looking for you! :)  This week's question...  What are your homeschooling activities for the month of June?

The Garden Is In!

 

Departing from the serious y'all, because... well... I've learned from a couple of silly little monkeys I wrestle with each day that you just can't always take life too seriously! 

 So here's a laid-back little corner of my world.

 

Captivating: The Adventure

 
Adventure.  It's at the core of me.  I've known it since I was a little girl.  At ten years old I would choose the horse that wasn't broken to ride.  He let me climb up bareback and gallop through the countryside until my jeans were drenched in his musky sweat, my face was gritty with field dust and we turned for the barn spent... and glowing.  As a woman, that passion has never diminished, but continued to evolve.  The idea of open space... untamed, raw, ready for discovery... stirs something in my spirit like nothing else.  This is a part of my affinity for  my treasured prairies... precious and rare.

But prairies aren't my only wild place.  A year ago, I got lost in Acadia National Park.  Lost.  Nothing but rocky cliffs and evergreen forest.  No compass.  Sun straight up in the sky.  Little means for navigation.  Phone without service. Not enough provision for nightfall.  Two little boys.  There-are-bears-in-these-woods kind of lost. Until the stone piles appeared.